The town was first named Mill's Station as a stop on the Missouri Pacific Railroad in Rush County, eight miles west of La Crosse, but when the post office was established, it was given the name, Hargrave, named for John Hargrave who was the first Superintendent of Schools and a State Legislator.
There were few businesses in the community consisting of grain elevators, a general store, post office, two churches, and a railroad section house. The post office opened for the first time on April 26, 1890 until closing for a short time in 1899. It reopened that year until closing again in 1913. It reopened on February 18, 1914 and remained in continuous operation until April 30, 1950. The two-room Hillsdale School was located about a mile south of the town and at one time had 60 students.
For a brief time, the Farmers Central Telephone had an office located in Hargrave.